Kingdoms come and kingdoms go, but the Rock of Ages endures forever. This is something that we all need to understand.

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar received a vision of the future through a dream.

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers o to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.” —Daniel 2:1-3 (NIV)

Have you ever had a dream that kept you up at night?
What was it?… What did you do?

In the ancient word it was believed that the gods spoke to people in dreams. So, Nebuchadnezzar seeks the council of his wise men. But instead of asking for just the interpretation, he asks them to tell him the dream as well.

Why would Nebuchadnezzar do this?

The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” 12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. —Daniel 2:10-13 (NIV)

Once again, Daniel is caught in the consequences of someone else’s iniquity. But even so, he stays calm and uses tact.

What does Daniel do?

During the night, God reveals to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Immediately, Daniel praises God, and then he asks for the king to spare the enchanters.

Why would Daniel seek to save them?

“Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. —Daniel 2:31-35 (NIV)

Daniel then will go on to explain what the dream means.

What is the point of this dream?

Here’s 3 takeaways to help us live a life agains the flow.

1 - Real faith is not developed in a vacuum.
It is not easy to live in Babylon. But when in Babylon, our faith is strengthened.

How have you seen this to be true?

2 - The future is not for kings to decide.
The future belongs to God and he has a firm grip on it.

Read Psalm 2:2-4.

What do you see here?

3 - Our foundation is not shaken if it is built on the Rock.

What does this look like in our lives?